Diocese of Port Blair
Rite: Latin
Region : Bijhan
Patron: Stella Maris
Founded: 22 June 1984
Province: Ranchi
Status: Diocese
Total area: 8,293 sq. kms.
Total Population : 356,152
Catholics Total: 33,695
Diocesan Priests: 23
Religious Priests: 20
Religious Sisters: 95
Minor Seminarians: 05
Major Seminarians: 05
Diocese of Port Blair at a Glance
Ecclesiastical Institutions
| Parishes & Substations | : 77 | Retreat Centres | : 01 |
| Major Seminaries | : 0 | Diocesan Minor Seminaries | : 01 |
| Congregation Minor Seminaries | : 0 | Religious Formation Houses | : 0 |
| Men Religious Houses | : 0 | Women Religious Houses | : 20 |
| Hospitals | : 01 | Dispensaries / Clinics / Health Centres | : 10 |
| Orphanages | : 01 | Homes for Aged & Destitute | : 01 |
| Schools for Physically Challenged | : 0 | Homes for Physically Challenged | : 0 |
| Crèches | : 0 | Boarding Houses | : 08 |
| Counselling Centres | : 0 | De-addiction Centre | : 0 |
| Social Centres | : 05 | HIV / AIDS Centre | : 0 |
| Professional Colleges | : 0 | Degree Colleges | : 0 |
| Parallel Colleges | : 0 | Vocational / Technical Training Centres | : 01 |
| Higher Secondary / Junior Colleges | : 02 | High Schools | : 02 |
| Upper Primary Schools | : 01 | Lower Primary Schools | :05 |
| Nurseries / Pre-Primary Schools | :07 | Presses & Media Centres | : 0 |
Andaman and Nicobar is an Union Territory. It comprises of about 350 islands situated in the Bay of Bengal. Port Blair, a former British Penal settlement, named after Captain Blair of the East India Company, is the Capital of the Union Territory. It is connected both by air and sea to the mainland (Chennai and Kolkatta) a distance of 1300 kms.
The population is a cosmopolitan group of Bengalis, Punjabis, Tamilians, Malayalis, Orissa, Chatishgarh, Jharkhand and a sprinkling from almost all the other states of India.
The Andaman and Nicobar Mission was taken care of by the Archdiocese of Rangoon - Burma. After the independence in 1947, the Holy See handed over the whole area of Andaman and Nicobar to the Archbishop of Ranchi. In 1965 at the request of the Archbishop of Ranchi the Andamans and Nicobar was handed over by the Holy See to the Pilar Fathers Pilar, Goa. On June 22, 1984, His Holiness Pope John Paul II elevated it into a diocese and appointed Most Rev Alex Dias, sfx, once a priest here, its first Bishop.
Right Rev. Aleixo das Neves Dias, SFX
Bishop Emeritus of Port Blair
Personal Details
Born:5-Aug-1944
Priestly Ordination:21-Dec-1969
Episcopal Ordination:20-Jan-1985
Period:2019-
Tel(P): 09434284667,0832-2218549, 2217199 (St. Joseph Home)
Email(P): aldasneves@gmail.com
Contact Details
Pilar Monastry, P.O. Pilar, Tiswadi, North Goa, Goa - 4030203
Tel(O): 03192-23 29 79
Fax : 23 04 64
Email : portblaircathdiocese@gmail.com